Airbag rescue or safety systems are known in the industry are employed as a life-saving system to enable a person using such system to survive an avalanche, or analogous situation. Such systems, when activated, help to maintain the user or the user's equipment buoyant during an avalanche, or analogous situation, and to maintain the user or equipment on the surface of the avalanche, or as close to the surface as possible, thereby enabling the user to survive the avalanche or to facilitate recovery of the user's equipment. The airbag system can be incorporated a backpack or a vest, and can include an inflatable air bag packed within the backpack or vest, a balloon inflation system and an activation mechanism. The air bag safety systems help to keep a user on the surface of the snow by a combination of inverse segregation particle sorting and buoyancy, whereby less dense particles in a medium tend to float to the surface. Inverse segregation particle sorting refers to the mechanism by which larger particles in a moving medium (e.g., snow) tend to stay at the top of the medium.
The balloon inflation system may include a battery-powered electric motor or a canister of compressed air or gas to inflate the bag. Such systems typically include a large airbag having a volume of over 1000 liters that is inflated by releasing compressed gas or by using an air movement device, such as an air blower, a fan, an air pump or an air compressor. Airbag rescue systems can create significant lifting forces during use that should be transferred to the user in an effective and efficient manner. Without proper transfer of such lifting forces, the airbag backpack may become separated from the user, or may potentially harm the user by riding up on the user's torso upon actuation or use. Some airbag rescue systems also include one or two leg straps.
Such backpacks or vests are typically formed of a flexible textile material and typically retain the air bag in a flexible enclosure with a zippered opening. Upon actuation of such systems, the airbag can begin to inflate within the enclosure and typically exerts pressure upon the flexible enclosure is generally uniform fashion. The distributed forces or pressure exerted upon the enclosure of the backpack from the inflating airbag may not be sufficient to cause the zippered opening of the backpack enclosure to open, thereby preventing proper release and deployment of the airbag. Although airbag rescue systems that utilize air movement devices such as air blowers, fans, air pumps and air compressors, offer many advantages over pressurized gas canister systems, such air movement devices can be susceptible to insufficient force or pressure to release the balloon or bladder from the backpack. Pressurized gas canister inflation systems can also be susceptible to a failure of the airbag or balloon to release from its enclosure.
Additionally, rescue systems with one or more leg straps typically have one end of the leg strap that is looped for receiving a waist belt or band of the pack, vest or harness, and for attaching the leg strap to the waist belt. Accordingly, in order to properly secure the leg strap, a user must use both hands to thread the waist band through the looped end of the leg strap before connecting the waist belt buckle. The leg strap of such systems cannot be undone independently without having to also undo the waist belt. This manipulation required for use of the leg strap can be cumbersome, time-consuming and difficult to complete for packs filled with gear. The manipulation of the looped end of the leg strap through the waist belt also makes it very difficult for a user to easily move the rescue pack to the side of his or her body for accessing gear or for use on ski lifts. Still further, many existing airbag safety systems that incorporate a leg strap do not provide an adjustable length strap that renders the airbag safety system susceptible to riding up on the user's torso. The inconvenience and improper fitting of such leg straps results in many users failing to use the leg strap altogether, which significantly increases the risk of the airbag safety system separating from the user during use or injuring the user by riding up onto the user's torso during use. Additionally, many existing airbag safety systems do not position the leg strap in an efficient load bearing position and therefore do not properly transfer or distribute the loads resulting from actuation and use of the airbag safety system to the user.
What is needed is an airbag safety or rescue system that overcomes such drawbacks. There is a continuing need for an airbag safety or rescue system that allows for efficient, reliable, and repeatable release and deployment of an inflatable balloon or bladder upon actuation. There is also a continuing need for an improved leg strap system that is easy to use and facilitates proper distribution of loads to the user and the airbag system during use or activation. What is needed is an air bag rescue system that is easy to wear, use and properly transfers lifting forces provided by the airbag safety system to the user and inhibits the system from being pulled up and/or off of the user. It would be advantageous to provide an airbag safety system that works reliably, is easy to use and can be worn comfortably by the user.